Melissa McBride goes inside that emotional Carol and Daryl Walking Dead goodbye

SPOILER ALERT: This article contains spoilers on the series finale of The Walking Dead.

I'm not crying… you're crying! Fine! We're all crying. The Walking Dead series finale featured many emotional moments, including the death of Rosita, the triumphant return of Rick and Michonne, and Maggie reliving the pain of the day her husband was brutally killed. But one of the most impactful sequences featured the last moments together for the last two remaining original season 1 characters on the show.

After the gang saved the Commonwealth from both a zombie invasion and the reign of Pamela Milton, Melissa McBride's Carol and Norman Reedus' Daryl sat down by a lake to say goodbye. "I wish you were coming with me," said Daryl. "I know," replied Carol. "This is going to be good for you, for me."

Jace Downs/AMC Melissa McBride on 'The Walking Dead' series finale

But it was Carol's final line of the scene that resonated the most: "I'm allowed to be a little sad," she said through tears. "You're my best friend." Viewers are allowed to be a little sad as well. While McBride dropped out of the planned Daryl and Carol spin-off, both she and Reedus have hinted that the duo very well may meet up again soon. So, for now, our last shot of the dynamic dup was the two telling each other "I love you" before Daryl drove off into this distance.

EW spoke to McBride about her thoughts on how Carol's journey wrapped up, filming that emotional scene by the lake, and having the characters say those three magic words.

Jace Downs/AMC Melissa McBride and Norman Reedus on 'The Walking Dead' series finale

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How do you feel about how Carol's story wrapped up here after 11 seasons?

MELISSA McBRIDE: It's been an incredible experience for me, having played Carol through to the end of this series. From understanding her history and walking alongside her on that wild path forward since we met — feeling her fears and doubts, her sorrows, embracing her joys, seeing her adapt and evolve so much — from there to here, this all feels very satisfying!

There's also an aspect about it that feels undone. When I was very little and watching television with my sister, she did this odd thing whenever anyone walked off screen or when the camera panned away from them till they were no longer seen: She would lean sideways. It turns out she was trying to see beyond the edge of the screen to see where that person went! It's funny that I'm reminded of that here, and I love it!

In a goofy way, that's kind of how I feel about the end. I guess it's because Carol's alive and I know that a tomorrow is on the horizon for all of them still, and that it's just the show itself that's ending. I find myself feeling like I want to check in on them still, see how they're all doing. Would this have been easier or more comfortable to fathom had no one survived the end of the show? I much prefer being left to lean sideways, and wondering where they went.

Jace Downs/AMC Melissa McBride and Norman Reedus on 'The Walking Dead' series finale

What was it like filming that scene with Norman next to the lake where you two are about to split up and he's saying he's proud of you and you're talking about being sad because he's your best friend?

Filming that scene by the lake with Norman was the most difficult scene on this show that I've ever had to get myself through. It was an absolute mixed bag of Carol and Melissa. I knew going in that it was going to be difficult... those words on the page, the first of our last two scenes together, the impending finality was feeling very real.

Once I sat on that bench, once Norman sat next to me, that was it for me... I knew I couldn't get out of my own way. To battle it would've been a mistake. Come what may, it had to be honest. It was Carol with Daryl, and it was me with Norman, and I will miss them both. It's a beautiful scene about friendship and trust. I loved it.

Jace Downs/AMC Melissa McBride and Norman Reedus on 'The Walking Dead' series finale

When Daryl and Carol are telling each other "I love you" in their final scene together after this incredible journey they've been on, did that feel kind of like Norman and Melissa at all in that moment?

We did several takes of the scene where we last see Daryl & Carol together, when they tell one another "I love you." One of the things I love about working together with Norman is that we don't rehearse, which was the case with this scene. Each take was a little different. These are the last words we hear them say to each other. In this final scene, I was struck by Daryl's deliberateness to tell Carol that he loves her, the stillness he held as he said it, and then her reaction to seemingly try to intercept the weight of it, tossing it back to him lightly, playfully, for the road ahead. It's a good way to remember them, taking care of one another.

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